A special, limited edition of their afternoon tea offering, Hotel Café Royal is currently serving a David Bowie-themed menu to celebrate the iconic singer, who died ten years ago. Running till 29th March, it is one of the most impressive afternoon tea experiences available in the city. Bowie’s association with the hotel, just off Regent Street, is well documented: it was here that he partied with Mick Jagger and Lou Reed after infamously killing his most iconic character, Ziggy Stardust. Tea is served in the outrageously ornate, gilded Café Royal Grill, which has its own famous association with former regular Oscar Wilde. It’s a dining environment.
Starting with a delightful little amuse bouche of smoked salmon, wasabi crème fraiche and black sesame, each subsequent component of the tea is loosely connected to Bowie. There’s The Berlin Years Sandwich, a lovely take on the classic combination of pastrami, gherkin, cheese and mustard. Then there are warm, fresh scones stamped with Bowie’s image Sane Aladdin album cover, and a chocolate orange caramel éclair, decorated in homage to the famous photo of the orange-haired artist in a black-striped Kansai Yamamoto jumpsuit. Everything is consistently delicious, curated and beautifully presented, with the quality of ingredients and meticulous preparation, meaning that the delicacy of individual tastes comes through so clearly in each course. A highlight of the precision-engineered crustless sandwich is subtly flavored coronation chicken with almonds and coriander, while the green suet pistachio sponge cake is sheer perfection, adorned with gold leaf and a salty-sweet pistachio praline from its centre. As Bowie loves to drink green tea, three varietals have been chosen to pair with the menu – the nutty, roasted Japanese Hojicha comes highly recommended. This is a show-stopping, utterly memorable and elevated afternoon tea, served with surroundings to match. – Tillie Wheeler
Price: £85, or £95 with a Bowie gin and olive cocktail or a glass of champagne
When: Monday – Sunday, 12 noon to 5:30 pm
Website: https://www.hotelcaferoyal.com/eat-drink/the-grill-room/
Address: 68 Regent Street, London, W1B 4DY
